Miami-Dade curfew could stretch into weekend, meaning a delay in beaches reopening

The head of Miami-Dade’s police department said Tuesday morning he wanted a curfew to remain in place through the weekend because of the risk of civil unrest tied to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The statement by police director Freddy Ramirez hinted at another week of beach closures in Miami-Dade, since Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he would allow the coast to reopen only when a countywide curfew expires.

“Around the country, things are very heated,” Ramirez told county commissioners. “That’s why I feel we should continue with the curfew through the weekend so we can have consistency. In case that any of these splinter groups try to start something in our community.”

Ramirez reports to Gimenez, who spoke before the police director but did not address the curfew timetable directly. Gimenez did suggest he’s not ready to end the restrictions, which currently require almost everyone to stay off streets and sidewalks after 9 p.m. People walking their dogs can travel within 250 feet of their homes, and most people going back and forth from work are exempt from the curfew.

“This is not over yet,” Gimenez said. “We have the funeral Thursday,” he said, referring to the planned Floyd memorial service in Houston. Floyd lived there before moving to Minneapolis several years ago.

Along with restricting the nighttime movement of nearly 3 million people across Miami-Dade, extending the curfew may further delay the reopening of beaches closed since March by emergency coronavirus measures also ordered by Gimenez. The beach closure order was scheduled to end Monday, but Gimenez suspended that plan Sunday after some stores were ransacked and police cars set on fire during and after protests in downtown Miami.

Gimenez has said he would allow beaches to reopen once he ends the curfew.